Where did Louis XI die?

At the Château de Plessis-lès-Tours, in La Riche, just outside Tours, in 1483. Only one wing survives, with its original stair tower.

Louis XI castles: which ones are open all year?

2 are listed as open all year: Château de Fougères-sur-Bièvre and Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey. The others open in season, and winter hours are often shorter.

Louis XI castles: how much is admission?

Across the 4 places whose prices we know, adult admission ranges from €7 to €13.

The castles of Louis XI

14 châteaux listed

14 places where Louis XI lived, stayed or was held, or which he had built or pulled down, with admission prices and opening seasons.

Louis XI reigned from 1461 to 1483. As dauphin he lodged at Sainte-Feyre, in the Marche, in 1439, and stayed at Montorcier, in the Champsaur, while he governed the Dauphiné. Once king, he ordered the castle of Langeais in 1465, on a spur above the Loire.

In 1468, having come to negotiate with Charles the Bold, he was held at the castle of Péronne. He besieged Lectoure, the stronghold of the counts of Armagnac, in 1472 and 1473. After the Duke of Burgundy’s death he had a castle built at Beaune in 1478 and the one at Dole razed.

He spent the end of his reign in Touraine. He made Plessis-lès-Tours, just outside Tours, his residence and died there in 1483. Near Chinon he hunted from Bonaventure, built for him, and stayed at Razilly. His servants built the Plessis-Bourré, Fougères-sur-Bièvre and the Château du Fou during his reign.

The attributions come from the French Ministry of Culture’s Mérimée records and from our own pages. For each of the 14 places: what links it to the king, the adult admission price where we know it, the opening season and a map.

The places, one by one

From the best known to the most discreet. Prices are for one adult; the season comes from the opening periods each place publishes.

Château de Plessis-lez-Tours
La Riche, Indre-et-Loire
His favourite residence, where he died in 1483; only one wing survives, with the cell that legend gives to Cardinal Balue.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Château de Langeais (Langeais Castle)
Langeais, Indre-et-Loire
Ordered by Louis XI in 1465; Charles VIII married Anne of Brittany here in 1491.
Adult admission: €12Open June to April
Opening hours and access Tickets
Château-fort de Péronne (Péronne Castle)
Péronne, Somme
Louis XI was held prisoner here by Charles the Bold; the castle is now the entrance to the Historial de la Grande Guerre.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Château du Plessis-Bourré (Plessis-Bourré Castle)
Écuillé, Maine-et-Loire
Built within a few years at the end of the 15th century by Jean Bourré, who ran Louis XI’s finances.
Adult admission: €11Season not published
Opening hours and access
Château de Bonaventure (Bonaventure Castle)
Huismes, Indre-et-Loire
A hunting lodge built for Louis XI, who stayed here several times between 1479 and 1482; a gateway and a tower remain.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Château de Razilly (Razilly Castle)
Beaumont-en-Véron, Indre-et-Loire
Charles VII stayed here in 1446, then Louis XI and Charles VIII.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Château de Fougères-sur-Bièvre (Fougères-sur-Bièvre Castle)
Le Controis-en-Sologne, Loir-et-Cher
Pierre de Refuge, Louis XI’s treasurer, obtained the king’s leave to rebuild it in 1470.
Adult admission: €7Open all year
Opening hours and access
Château du Fou (Fou Castle)
Vouneuil-sur-Vienne, Vienne
Built between 1460 and 1470 by Yves du Fou, chamberlain to Louis XI.
Open September to September
Opening hours and access
Bouchard Père & Fils
Beaune, Côte-d'Or
A castle built in 1478 on Louis XI’s orders after Burgundy passed to the crown; towers survive, with cellars dug into them in the 19th century.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Château de Dole (Dole Castle)
Dole, Jura
The residence of the counts of Burgundy, razed on Louis XI’s orders and partly rebuilt under Charles V.
Season not published
Opening hours and access Tickets
Ancien château des comtes d'Armagnac
Lectoure, Gers
Badly damaged when Louis XI besieged Lectoure in 1472 and 1473, then made royal property.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Château de Sainte-Feyre (Sainte-Feyre Castle)
Sainte-Feyre, Creuse
The dauphin, the future Louis XI, lodged here in 1439.
Season not published
Hours to be confirmed
Opening hours and access
Montorcier Castle
Saint-Jean-Saint-Nicolas, Hautes-Alpes
A residence of the dauphins of Viennois where the future Louis XI, then dauphin, stayed several times.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey
Le Mont-Saint-Michel, Manche
Louis XI came here as a pilgrim, like other kings of France; in 1469 he founded the Order of Saint Michael, placed under the archangel’s patronage.
Adult admission: €13Open all year
Hours to be confirmed
Opening hours and access

The map

The 14 places on this page. Tap a point to open its page.

Loading the map…

The route

The Touraine of his last years fits into one day: Plessis-lès-Tours on the edge of Tours, Langeais some twenty kilometres downstream, then Bonaventure, at Huismes, and Razilly, a few kilometres from Chinon.

Stop	From the previous stop
1.Château de Plessis-lez-Tours · La Riche
2.Château de Langeais (Langeais Castle) · Langeais	20 km
3.Château de Bonaventure (Bonaventure Castle) · Huismes	17 km
4.Château de Razilly (Razilly Castle) · Beaumont-en-Véron	7 km

44 km in a straight line overall

Frequently asked questions

Where did Louis XI die?: At the Château de Plessis-lès-Tours, in La Riche, just outside Tours, in 1483. Only one wing survives, with its original stair tower.
Louis XI castles: which ones are open all year?: 2 are listed as open all year: Château de Fougères-sur-Bièvre and Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey. The others open in season, and winter hours are often shorter.
Louis XI castles: how much is admission?: Across the 4 places whose prices we know, adult admission ranges from €7 to €13.